Thanks to construction delays on the new Investors Group Field, the Manitoba Bisons had to postpone their move by a year and are playing one last season in the old park. The only remaining grass field on the conference circuit, University Stadium and the 2-0, seventh-ranked Bisons get set to host the similarly 2-0, No. 2-ranked Dinos Saturday afternoon in one of three top-10 matchups across the country this week – and the battle for top spot in Canada West.
The game kicks off at 12 p.m. MT Saturday, live on CanadaWest.tv and UMFM.com.
After a long period of futility in Winnipeg, the Dinos have been more successful of late, winning their last three road games against the Bisons dating back to a 25-18 win in 2008. But it’s never an easy game, with last year’s season-opener a case in point.
Trailing by 14 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Dinos took advantage of three Manitoba fumbles in the final 15 minutes, leading to Eric Dzwilewski’s last-minute touchdown pass to Chris Dobko as the then-No. 4 Dinos squeaked out the victory 35-31, sparking them to a first-place finish in the conference – their first since 1995.
Calgary won the other meeting between the two teams as well, taking a 41-24 win at McMahon Stadium to give Blake Nill his 100th victory as a CIS coach. The teams will meet again this season, closing the schedule on Oct. 27 when the Bisons visit McMahon.
Other Canada West action this weekend has Regina (1-1) visiting Alberta (0-2) for the Golden Bears’ home opener Friday night, while Saskatchewan (1-1) heads west to take on UBC (0-2) at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday.
Calgary remains on the road next week, heading to Vancouver to take on UBC, while the Bisons will host Alberta – marking their third consecutive home game.
Here’s a look at the two teams:
No. 2 Calgary Dinos (2-0):
Last week: defeated Alberta 65-6
Next week: at UBC
Normally, coaches would be hard-pressed to find areas for improvement after victories on the scale of last week’s 65-6 Dinos win over Alberta, but Blake Nill and Co. have one major concern: penalties.
The Dinos were flagged 15 times for 155 yards – including 135 first-half penalty yards – against the Golden Bears last Friday night. For some perspective, Alberta managed just 147 yards of total offence in the game – to the Bears gained more field position by penalty than by moving the ball themselves. Calgary is now the most penalized team in the conference, averaging 127.5 yards against per game – something that needs to change if they’re to have success against the top teams in the conference through the middle of the schedule.
Penalties aside, however, plenty did go right for the Dinos in the first two games of the season at home. Eric Dzwilewski has the top quarterback rating among starters in the conference, Steven Lumbala is the leading rusher in Canada West, and rookie slotback Brett Blaszko is having a spectacular debut. The reigning conference offensive player of the week, Blaszko has 13 catches for 221 yards and three touchdowns through just two games of his CIS career to lead the conference in both receiving yards and touchdowns.
Defensively, Mike Edem is averaging better than 10 tackles per game to lead Canada West, while Jamahl Knowles is two spots behind him on the leaderboard.The score last Friday night meant that the entire 50-man dress list got into the action on the field as the coaching staff got a chance to evaluate some of the young talent on the roster. The Dinos got touchdowns from backup running backs Denzel Morrison and Mercer Timmis, while rookie defensive lineman Zach Jenkins one of the Dinos’ five sacks on the day. It all led to a 65-point outburst, the fifth-highest in the conference since 1995 – eclipsing the 62 points the Dinos put up against UBC in the 2011 Hardy Cup.
No. 7 Manitoba Bisons (2-0)
Last week: defeated Saskatchewan 31-28
Next week: host Alberta
The only road team to win a game in Canada West so far this year, the seventh-ranked Manitoba Bisons will try to make it three in a row to start the season Saturday afternoon at home against the Dinos.
It’s the second straight week the Bisons will play host to a Top 10 foe after dropping the Saskatchewan Huskies in a tight 31-28 contest last week. Manitoba had to come back from a 14-0 deficit after one quarter, then a 26-25 hole with less than three minutes to go, but quarterback Cam Clark found Nic Demski for a five-yard touchdown with just over two minutes left, and the Bisons hung on for the tight victory.
Manitoba boasts a powerful run offence with the triple threat of Kienan LaFrance, Anthony Coombs, and Demski out of the backfield – with Coombs and Demski also dangerous weapons in the return game and at receiver: Coombs picked up an 85-yard pass-and-run major against the Huskies last week. The fifth-year veteran Clark, who had a long junior career, takes over as the starting pivot this season and has completed 31 of 57 passes (54.4 per cent) for 511 yards and three touchdowns.
Xavier Johnson, Danny Turek, and Brendon Bowman have all cracked the top 10 in receiving yards in the conference so far this year, matching the Dinos as the only two teams with three receivers in the top 10.
On the defensive side of the football, the Bisons rely on the veteran linebacker Thomas Hall, who is sandwiched between Calgary’s Edem and Knowles on the tackles leaderboard. Defensive lineman Ranji Atwall is right up there as well, averaging six tackles per game, while Bami Adewale is also in the top 10 in that category.
Saturday’s game is the second of three straight home games for the Bisons, who will play three of their last four games of the season on the road – including the finale at McMahon Stadium Oct. 27. After hosting the winless Alberta Golden Bears next week, Manitoba makes consecutive trips to Saskatchewan to face the Regina Rams Sept. 28 and the Saskatchewan Huskies Oct. 12.
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